Southern California dispensaries
- Thread starter DrSteez
- Start date
Shooby
4ShOObY3 - IG
Stating a bunch in my mind means, i can drive and visit over 10 legit complaint dispensaries in less than an hour. Like Target, I can drive to 6 or more targets in an hour and to me, thats a bunch for the irvine area. You say 18 legit dispensaries is in the Santa Ana city alone. Thats a lot! I was thinking more like a dozen and was happy to have a half dozen or more within 3 miles of my home to easily go to.
If I tell you I will get back to you ASAP, how long do you think that is? to me, that means a month maybe but to others, it may mean 5 mins. Point is, each person has their own definition of bunch.
I def. will renew 12/21 when mine expires. And i get to go back to Medmen and get the FTP deal over again!
If I tell you I will get back to you ASAP, how long do you think that is? to me, that means a month maybe but to others, it may mean 5 mins. Point is, each person has their own definition of bunch.
I def. will renew 12/21 when mine expires. And i get to go back to Medmen and get the FTP deal over again!
Tranquility
Well-Known Member
This is out of San Diego and has about as many different aspects as can be considered to come to some conclusion. It is not meant to apply to any individual OR to Orange County. It's just how one DA interprets the law. (The court has not found on the issue yet. The other defendants have pled out. The attorney has not.)
At:
http://www.omarfigueroa.com/2017/07...an-diego-in-case-of-lawyer-jessica-mcelfresh/
It seems the prosecutor is arguing getting a recommendation and/or (I assume) joining a collective might be evidence of a crime. You can't assume less legal risk by doing things, um...legally? And, that does not discuss those who did not follow procedure or who misrepresented something to get the rec.
The key quote related to this discussion:
High Times has the case still in process as of 11/21/17.
https://hightimes.com/news/med-west-defendants-accept-plea-deal/
At:
http://www.omarfigueroa.com/2017/07...an-diego-in-case-of-lawyer-jessica-mcelfresh/
It seems the prosecutor is arguing getting a recommendation and/or (I assume) joining a collective might be evidence of a crime. You can't assume less legal risk by doing things, um...legally? And, that does not discuss those who did not follow procedure or who misrepresented something to get the rec.
The key quote related to this discussion:
The prosecutor, Mr. Del Portillo, argued that if Ms. McElfresh has a medical marijuana recommendation, or is in possession of recommendations, that is evidence either of an affirmative defense (a reference to the medical cannabis defense, which technically is a limited immunity from prosecution rather than an affirmative defense) or evidence of her joining a criminal conspiracy.
If Ms. McElfresh is part of a collective, argued Del Portillo, she is part of a conspiracy. Judge Halgren stated that the Court does not see the search warrant as authorizing a search of medical records for defendant’s medical marijuana recommendation, but that the Court will not issue a final ruling until it obtains the special master’s report.
Edit:If Ms. McElfresh is part of a collective, argued Del Portillo, she is part of a conspiracy. Judge Halgren stated that the Court does not see the search warrant as authorizing a search of medical records for defendant’s medical marijuana recommendation, but that the Court will not issue a final ruling until it obtains the special master’s report.
High Times has the case still in process as of 11/21/17.
https://hightimes.com/news/med-west-defendants-accept-plea-deal/
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Shooby
4ShOObY3 - IG
Chilling with a bunch of budtenders and vaping, I asked them about how they plan to operate come 2018 in terms of being a recreational dispensary or medical and they said both and recommended that i just pay the $30 and get a doctor's rec. Main reason he stated is that recreational side will charge a 44% tax while medical would charge the state/county tax rate. This was what they were told by management in a meeting this week.
We wont be able to touch the buds or see the buds we are getting as they have to be pre-sealed. And they can no longer open the containers to let you smell the wax prior to purchase. edibles are changing dosage limits. They are limiting how much wax you can purchase in a container. Raw Gardens has a 3 gram bucket they are discontinuing do to the new laws and will be offering gram jars instead. The list goes on and on. I liked the buckets too. I hated having 10 little glass jars around making me feel like a crack head!
OO i forgot, they can not longer offer freebies with THC.
We wont be able to touch the buds or see the buds we are getting as they have to be pre-sealed. And they can no longer open the containers to let you smell the wax prior to purchase. edibles are changing dosage limits. They are limiting how much wax you can purchase in a container. Raw Gardens has a 3 gram bucket they are discontinuing do to the new laws and will be offering gram jars instead. The list goes on and on. I liked the buckets too. I hated having 10 little glass jars around making me feel like a crack head!
OO i forgot, they can not longer offer freebies with THC.
FlyingLow
Team NO SLEEP!
FUCK NO!!!!!
The worst
Shooby
4ShOObY3 - IG
If you have been to a Medmen store in SoCal, its going to basically be like that. Everything is behind glass and you cant touch or smell ANYTHING. Only you might get a whiff as the flowers are in a plastic container with notch on top you slide to smell. You can barely smell it or tell if its fluffy or dry in the containers. Once you pick what you want, the bud tenders goes to a bar in the back which a guy who basically fills your order like a pharmacy tech. You wont see you buds until you leave. It may look like what you saw in that container or close to it. you just gotta trust the put the right one in and weigh it correctly as you cant see any of that.
Aizen-sama
Fmr. Captain of the 5th Division
It's the same with alcohol, and I've seen Total Wine offer "Buy One Get One for $0.05" so hopefully the dispensaries will get creative too.
Aizen-sama
Fmr. Captain of the 5th Division
One month into rec sales here in SoCal, how is everybody faring?
I checked WM today and First Choice Organics closed down, along with HHG below them. This follows Sky High going delivery only in the last several weeks. I guess Santa Ana is finally heeding the complaints of the BB shops and cleaning house of the unlicensed places.
Another place I checked out in Westminster called The Premium Choice also went delivery only after being open for about a month. Makes me wonder how Loud & Lavish has managed to last so long as a storefront dispensary.
Not sure where I'm going to go for carts now, the only brand I both like and trust is Kurvana ASCND, but I'm not paying over $70 plus 30% tax for a gram of distillate. Maybe a delivery service? Who knows. I might stock up on a few months worth if I find a good price, just got my tax return and paid off my credit card!
I checked WM today and First Choice Organics closed down, along with HHG below them. This follows Sky High going delivery only in the last several weeks. I guess Santa Ana is finally heeding the complaints of the BB shops and cleaning house of the unlicensed places.
Another place I checked out in Westminster called The Premium Choice also went delivery only after being open for about a month. Makes me wonder how Loud & Lavish has managed to last so long as a storefront dispensary.
Not sure where I'm going to go for carts now, the only brand I both like and trust is Kurvana ASCND, but I'm not paying over $70 plus 30% tax for a gram of distillate. Maybe a delivery service? Who knows. I might stock up on a few months worth if I find a good price, just got my tax return and paid off my credit card!
Tranquility
Well-Known Member
While most I've seen have the same pricing structure between med and rec, the tax is different. Currently, medical patients are not being charged excise tax at the dual dispensaries. That should change in a few months when a county-issued card is required to be considered "medical". The more...quasi...not-illegal dispensaries are still giving away promotional product with purchase--even though such freebies are not allowed by the law.CornerStone Research (CRC) just went recreational. They also do medical.
Hmm.........I haven't been in there lately. I wonder if they'll have the same product for both med and rec but with two different pricing structures?
Unless your religion allows for such freebies as a sacrament, of course.
On that note, has anyone gone to a quasi (not-illegal dispensary) and signed one of the church statements yet? I know all the quasi's Pappas represents seem to have some religious mumbo-jumbo on registration forms in the hope they can get some of that sweet-sweet 1st amendment freedom of religion get-out-of-jail-free argument.
We'll see.
lwien
Well-Known Member
I wonder why a dispensary would choose to do both medical and recreational.? If they can do both, why not just do recreational? What would be the advantage of doing medical as well?
Damn bureaucrats.
Well, if they'd be allowed to operate as they did pre-2018, showing open containers to customers & paying less taxes...
Tranquility
Well-Known Member
Taxes is the biggest difference. The rules are less strict as well, although how that plays out is anyone's guess. (Because they aren't supposed to be profit-making dispensaries, but non-profit collectives where everyone is just sharing.)
No one knows how the market will divide and differentiate. For me, with the crackdown on quasi's, product is a little harder to get. The lines a bit longer, the drive a bit further, less variety of options to choose from.
It is an intentional strategy to force the unmotivated into the retail market and undercut medical patient rights. Since many medical patients were medical-in-name-only, that is not considered a problem.
Why would anyone continue to serve medical patients? Because some are true believers of the efficacy of cannabis and want to help others while getting a little for their trouble while others will find serving to that community a niche they can serve better than anyone else. Why both? After the transition period, I have no idea. Unless a much larger percentage of the medical community signs up for county-issued cards than I suspect will occur, few will want to go through the accounting issues for such a small segment of the market that could be potentially be added as customers.
Tranquility
Well-Known Member
I stopped at a fully-licensed dispensary that sold both yesterday evening. The prices were the same--except for the taxes.
That was a mess.
I follow the prices as I add to my order and total them up in my head. Do a quick multiplication to find the tax and get a rough idea what I should pay. When the girl rings me up the number she says is a bit higher.
"That seems high." I said.
"The tax fools a lot of people." she replied.
"No, I understand the taxes. I just think the calculation high."
She continues to look at the computer screen in front of her and she finally goes to get the manager. He comes out and greets me and the budtender and I explain things. To his credit, he didn't just dismiss me, but got out a calculator.
It was obvious to me quickly, calculator operation was not the main function of the manager. After a few tries I helped a bit and he understood and calculated the tax on my purchase as a recreational and as a medical purchase and then subtracted and gave me the difference. (I had paid the amount asked for and originally told the budtender I'd just review the receipt later to check.)
"Nope." I told him. "That gives me too much. I paid LESS than recreational. It's just I ALSO paid more than medical." He thought a bit more and went through the calculations again to come up with the medical tax. Sure enough, my estimate was correct and he gave me a few bucks back.
Check your receipts! There are still bugs to work out. While you may not be able to know the taxes and fees that easily, you can certainly calculate how much you're paying on top of the price and compare it between places. Maybe not exactly, but about. (I was a bit off because I was just using my head and rounded my answers and there was an extra "fee" for the carry-home bag required by ordinance that was only taxed for sales and not cannabis.)
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looney2nz
Research Geek, Mad Scientist
if you have a county/state care, you will pay no sales tax.
HOWEVER, you WILL still be paying for the other taxes like excise, grow taxes.
Shooby
4ShOObY3 - IG
First Choice had to close because of the guys downstairs, HHG who is the same as EDC and Sky High (that are permanently shut down). The city shut down the entire building as the traffic and parking was getting out of hand for that area and violated building or lot codes. First Choice saw this happening once EDC was directing all their traffic to that location.
First Choice is offering Delivery Service only to current members.
Shooby
4ShOObY3 - IG
You know what else i have notice in the Santa Ana area, Prices are starting to increase regardless of tax, medical or recreational. I have read that would happen for the first 6 months to a year as growers are trying to get complaint in Cali.
I see 8ths back to $65 and even $70 now with and without tax. I am starting to not like this recreational shit.
I see 8ths back to $65 and even $70 now with and without tax. I am starting to not like this recreational shit.
Grifo
Well-Known Member
Yep my favorite delivery service with the best weed ive ever vaped or smoked got raided on the beginning of Jan. Ive resorted to the old ways since my budget does not allow for me to spend that kind of money. Ive seen some Instagram pages sell good looking bud and shatter and very low prices but they are not licensed so i have to stay away.
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